What are Friends for?
by Gemzgurl
Summary: Lilys friends get together with the Mauraders and decided that they have to get Lily and James together before the end of the year because they are all sick of the fighting. Things could get very messy...
1. Chapter 1

"You're _the_ most insufferable, arrogant, stupid, annoying prat to have ever walked this planet!"

"_I'm_ insufferable? What about you! You're always strutting around Hogwarts like you own the place! And you think you're soooo smart, but I'm the one with top marks around here!"

"I do not strut!"

"Oh, yes you do!"

Lily Evans glared at James Potter with all of her strength. He really was insufferable sometimes. Honestly, saying that she strutted! She most certainly did not strut. Behind Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were beginning to snigger, and even Remus Lupin had a small smile on his face. Behind her, Lily knew that her own best friends, Rain Parker, Claire Desmond, and Tina Cohen were glaring at the other boys, too. James glared right back at the bunch of girls.

"You're so….ugh! I can't even think of a word horrible enough to describe you!" Lily shouted.

"Well, I can think of a whole bunch of words to describe you, Evans!"

"Ooh," several people in the Gryffindor common room gasped. Lily turned to glare at them collectively, and they quieted down.

"I hate you, Potter!"

"Yeah, well, the feeling's most certainly mutual!" he yelled right back.

Lily's hands were clenched into fists, and she kept unclenching and clenching them as the argument with James continued. Her face was beet red, and a muscle in her jaw was twitching. James's face was red, too, but that was the only sign, apart from his yelling, that he was angry. The argument was quickly loosing steam; however, neither of them would back down before the other one did. Rain, Claire, and Tina were growing bored of just standing there, glaring, but they didn't dare leave Lily alone to face the boys by herself.

For a few moments the whole entire common room was silent while Lily and James engaged in a staring fight, until finally Lily backed down. She turned around, still huffing, and stormed up to the sixth year girl's common room, her friends hot on her heels. A smug smile passed over James's face as he turned to face his own friends. The common room let out a sigh together, relieved that the argument was finally over.

"I reckon that I won that battle!" he declared, and Remus shook his head.

"You really showed Evans, James!" said Peter, his watery eyes shining with appreciation. James grinned and patted the boy on the top of the head.

"I really did, didn't I?"

The following year, the day before the new term starts at Hogwarts…----

"I can't wait until term starts," Tina said brightly, twirling a strand of her golden hair around her finger. "This is going to be our last year at Hogwarts, guys! This time next year we'll be out in the _real world._"

"Tina, what are you talking about?" Rain asked, throwing a piece of popcorn at her. Tina squealed and managed to duck it. She then glared at Rain, who took no notice whatsoever.

"I'm looking forward to the new term as well," Lily admitted, taking a sip of her iced tea. The four friends were lounging around Claire's back patio, drinking iced tea and eating junk food. Claire was currently inside, getting more m&m's for the girls to snack on.

"You just want to show off your great new tan," Tina said, looking at the redhead enviously. "I wish I could tan as well as you do, Lily. I usually just burn."

"Plus she wants to brag to some more people about getting Head Girl this year," Rain added, munching on a handful of popcorn.

Claire came back outside and set a bowl of m&m's on the table. Sitting down in a lawn chair next to Rain, she said, "Lily should have the right to brag. Head Girl is a really good position, you know."

"I'm not going to brag!" the redhead protested heatedly. She sighed and looked out into the Desmond's clean kept yard. "I'll miss summer, though. And anyway, I'm not looking forward to seeing Potter again this year. That's one thing I can't wait for; this time next year, I won't have to dread seeing him again, because I won't have to!"

The other girls shook their heads. "I don't see why you hate him so much. He's really rather handsome if you ask me," Tina said dreamily. She was too busy daydreaming to dodge the second kernel of popcorn Rain threw at her. "Hey! Stop it!"

"No one asked you," Rain told her, and shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"That's disgusting! Do you have any idea how many calories are in that?" Tina asked, disdainfully eyeing the large bowl of popcorn in front of Rain. She visibly shuddered. That was Tina for you, though; she was the girly one in the bunch, the one who worried about her appearance and gaining weight and boys. She was the one to go to in Hogwarts if you ever wanted to dig up some dirt on someone; Tina's nickname was the Queen of Gossip, and she was true to her title.

"Um, who cares?" Rain replied, purposefully reaching into the bowl of m&m's and sticking those into her mouth, too. Rain was the athletic one of the group; she played Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and had no need to worry about gaining weight. Her fast metabolism let her eat just about anything and not gain a single ounce. She _never_ worried about how she looked; her idea of getting ready in the mornings was to run a brush through her shoulder-length black hair, and that was it. She and Tina were virtual opposites.

Claire was the shy one, the one who never took risks and was never really noticed. She didn't have a problem with being herself, and she hardly ever worried about what the other people thought about her. She'd rather live her life in the shadow of her friends than be in the limelight. The only thing that Rain and Tina really agreed on was that Claire needed to get out more, be a little more impulsive so she'd get noticed. But it was hard, because it was almost like Claire was built to fit into the normalcy of the world. What with her mouse-brown hair, dull brown eyes, and slightly chubby build, she blended right in with everything around her, unlike Lily, who really stood out in a crowd.

Lily's flaming red waist-length hair was unlike any of the girls in the entire school, and her emerald green eyes were the same way. She was tall with long, slender legs, which happened to make the school uniform look good, a feat that was nearly impossible to do. She was skinny, but not too skinny, and she never really worried about her weight. The only time she'd really ever worried about it was at the beginning of her fifth year at Hogwarts, because she seemed to be the only one at school who hadn't lost her baby fat. But that had changed this summer, because she'd finally shed those few extra pounds.

"You know, I heard some rumours that Potter became Head Boy," Tina said casually, picking up a nail file from the table and beginning to file her nails.

Lily stared at her. "Are you insane? Potter, Head Boy?" She laughed at the idea. "As if Dumbledore would really appoint someone so…stupid to be Head Boy."

Tina shrugged. "I heard it from a friend of a friend of a friend of a former girlfriend of Sirius Black."

"You know, James isn't really that stupid," Claire said quietly, and everyone turned to look at her. She let out a tiny squeak and shrank down in her chair. "I'm just saying he does have the top marks in Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and potions."

Lily once again looked into the immaculate yard, a look of determination on her face. "Not anymore. This year, I will beat him at grades if it _kills_ me."

The other three girls shared worried glances. It was hard to get Lily Evans to give up something once she'd set her mind on it, and going up against James Potter was not a very smart thing to do. But they didn't bother telling her this, because they all knew it'd be futile.

A/N: Yay! New story! Aren't you all excited? Tell me what you think of it, now or else! Okay, just kidding. But please review!


	2. Chapter 2

"Parker! Cohen! Wait up!" Rain and Tina turned at the sound of someone calling their names. Claire turned to look as well, even though her name hadn't been called, because she was used to being forgotten about when she was with her friends. Rain and Tina rolled their eyes together at the sight of Sirius, Remus and Peter coming toward them.

"What do you three want?" Tina asked, hands on her hips. She looked behind them for James, but he wasn't there. "And where's the other oh-so-annoying one?"

"Yeah, doesn't every circus need their ringleader?" Rain said, smirking.

"Let's go somewhere less…crowded," Sirius said, motioning to the Hogwarts Express. They were on Platform 9 3/4, and they were being jostled and pushed around by other students and their families.

The girls looked at each other, eyebrows raised, but followed the boys onto the train suspiciously. They walked all the way to the back of the train and entered an empty compartment. Remus closed the doors behind the girls. Tina and Rain stood beside each other, but Claire sat down on a seat. Sirius and Remus also sat down, and the jittery Peter followed their example and sat, too.

"Take a seat, ladies," Sirius said, motioning for Tina and Rain to take the seats across from them. "We have business to discuss, and this could take a while." Reluctantly, the girls sat beside Claire. "Atta girls. Now, down to business."

"Drop the act, Black," said Rain, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just tell us what you want so we can find a separate compartment, away from you guys."

"What act?" asked Sirius, placing his hand over his heart dramatically. All three girls rolled their eyes at him. "But seriously. Remus and I---" Peter cleared his throat, and Sirius looked at him irritably. "Okay, me, Remus and Peter here have been thinking…"

"That's dangerous," Tina said, and Rain laughed. Even Claire smiled a little. "Did it hurt?"

"What Sirius is trying and failing to say is, we've decided that we should get James and Evans together," Remus said while Sirius huffed in annoyance at Tina's remark. "They've been fighting since day one, and to be truthful, we're getting kind of tired of it."

"Well, we are too, actually," Rain admitted reluctantly, looking at Tina and Claire, who both nodded in agreement.

"We've decided that, with your help, we might be able to pull it off before the year's over," Remus continued. "We just need help planning what to do, and then of course executing the plan. We've been trying to work something out all summer but we haven't come up with anything good yet."

"Where is James, anyway?" Tina asked.

"In the Heads' compartment of course," Sirius said smugly. He and the other boys grinned at the girls' shocked looks.

"So the rumours I heard were true?" gasped Tina, and Rain's mouth dropped open. "You've got to be joking! How could James Potter be Head Boy? He wasn't even a prefect!"

**(----Meanwhile, in the Heads' compartment…----)**

"You! What are _you_ doing here?" shouted Lily, her hands automatically balling into fists at the sight of James Potter.

James whirled around to see (one of) his least favourite people standing in the doorway to the Heads' compartment. He glared at her. "_I'm_ here because I have to be. I'm Head Boy this year, you know."

"What? The rumours were true?" she gasped, staring at him.

He smirked. "I guess we're going to be working together this year. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other, eh?"

"That's what I'm afraid of!"

His smirk faded. "Why are you like that, Evans?"

"Like _what_, Potter?"

"You can't even be happy for me once!"

She stared at him. "Why on earth would I be happy for you, Potter? Have you forgotten that I don't like you? Sometimes I think you're blonde under all of that messy black hair of yours!" _I'm sorry, Tina_, she apologized silently, knowing how angry that comment would have made her blonde friend. (A/N: Also sorry to all of the blondes reading this; I don't mean to offend you.)

"Ah, Evans, your words hurt me," he mocked, pouting. She rolled her eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me."

"You sound like my mother when you say that," she snapped. "And that's not a compliment, either."

"Come on, Evans, lighten up already! You're so uptight. It's no wonder you were chosen for Head Girl."

This time it was her turn to smirk at him. "Is that why you made Head Boy then? Or have you forgotten already?"

James stared at her, his mouth open, absolutely at a loss for words, for the first time in his life. She was NOT supposed to have that kind of power over him! He fumbled around for something to say. "Oh yeah? Well…you're stupid!"

She laughed in his face. "You sound like a three year old, Potter! Oops, I forgot; you have the intelligence of exactly that age range!"

His eyes flashed, and his grip on his wand (which was in his robe pocket, out of her vision) tightened so that his knuckles turned white. The two of them glared daggers at each other, James fighting to think of something to say in response to that. Usually he could come up with a comeback in nothing flat, without even having to really think about it, but Lily was starting to get good at this catty responses thing. She used to sulk and get angry, but she usually stayed silent. But now…she was better at this than he was! It was ridiculous, that's what it was.

"What's wrong, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" she said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"More like a three headed dog," was his reply.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, 'more like a three headed dog,'" he repeated, gaining ground in the fight finally. "Meaning, you have the likeness to a three headed dog."

"Why you---"

"Miss Evans! Mr. Potter!" They both whirled around to see Professor McGonagall standing, hands on hips, in the doorway, tapping her foot. "I cannot believe the two of you! I told the headmaster that I was doubtful that the two of you would be able to work together, but he assured me that he'd made the right decision in assigning the two of you to the Heads' positions. _Do not make him regret his choice_!"

They both hung their heads, ashamed and appropriately chastised. When McGonagall wasn't looking, Lily glared full heartedly at James, who glared right back.

**(Back with Rain, Tina, Claire, Remus, Sirius, and Peter….)**

"I'm not saying that getting Potter to be nice to Lily is a bad idea or anything," said Tina slowly, after listening to Sirius's latest plan, "it's just, I thought he hated her as much as she hates him. If that's true, how are you going to get him to be nice to her?"

"Ah, good point," Sirius said, scratching his head while he thought.

"What if we put a spell on one of them?" asked Sirius excitedly. "A spell that would…. oh, I dunno…. a love spell! Or something."

"No, because then it wouldn't be true love," Tina told him, and he sank back against his seat. "This is getting ridiculous. We're supposed to be able to think of a plan right away, because that's what would happen in the movies---" There were several confused looks; Tina was Muggle-born, and often forgot that the others weren't. "Okay, bad example. But you get my point."

"I suppose just making them spend a lot of time together isn't going to cut it," Rain said gloomily. She was starting to get a little depressed; they'd been thinking up ideas for what seemed like forever now, and yet every time someone thought of something, someone else thought of how that plan wouldn't work. They were running out of ideas.

Just then a look of brilliance appeared on Claire's face. Smiling, she declared, "I've an idea!"


End file.
